The Significance of the Chinese People's Liberation Army White Paper

In December 2004 the People's Liberation Army issued its status report, the White Paper, summarising its view of the global configuration of forces and projecting its response. The operating assumptions are: (1) while the international situation is stable, there are factors present of instability, uncertainty and insecurity, which are increasing, at the same time that hegemonism and unilateralism are gaining; (2) the tendency towards multi-polarisation is deepening; (3) new changes are altering the existing balance of power; (4) while the developing world is increasing global democratisation with a more vocal say, the gap between the North and the South is ever widening; (5) the world wide revolution in Military Affairs requires both new technology and new doctrines; (6) localised wars of a geopolitical, ethnic and religious nature are a constant threat; (7) any attempt by Taiwan to separate will be crushed; and (8) non-traditional threats are on the increase. To properly position the White Paper in perspective, it is essential to examine the 1999 study by two senior PLA Colonels, Unrestricted Warfare, which was characterised by the US as the doctrine of a technologically weaker China as it confronts the superior US power. A careful examination of this study reveals a thoroughly thought-out evaluation of both US and Chinese strengths and weaknesses in technology, strategy and doctrine. There is little doubt that the wake-up call for the PLA was triggered by the Gulf War—Operation Desert Storm. China's response, it is argued, is multiple—ranging from altering force levels to increasing its educational/technical levels; developing a seamless strategy for a transition from a peacetime to a wartime economy; seeking a leapfrog strategy in military technology; not falling into the trap of seeking superiority in all areas of military technology; and constructing and reinforcing an alliance structure of both multilateral institutional nature as well as on the bilateral level.